Every car carrier knows the maths: the outbound leg is booked and paid, and the trip home is fuel, tolls and driver hours with nothing on the trailer. Return loads are what turn a decent lane into a good one. Here is how to find them on Haulio.
By the numbers: 21.8% of all kilometres driven by road freight vehicles in the EU in 2023 were driven empty, according to Eurostat. In 2020, empty running was 24% on national trips and 13% on international ones.
Why do empty kilometres cost so much?
A truck’s costs barely change with what it carries. Fuel, tolls, ferries and the driver’s time are the same whether the trailer is full or empty, so an empty return leg doubles the real cost of the paid one. Even a partial return load changes the result of the whole trip.
How do you find return loads?
On Haulio, open Find Loads and set the delivery country to your home country, or to where the truck needs to be next. The map shows every open load that fits, with the pickup, the delivery and how far each of your drivers is from the pickup. Most loads on Haulio run in and out of the Nordics, so trucks delivering into Germany or the Benelux often find a load straight back north.
Let loads find you: announce your empty trucks
Searching is one half. The other is telling the marketplace where you will be. Register where a truck will be empty and from which date, how many spaces it has and where it is heading. Dealers, importers and Haulio see the capacity and can offer you loads that fit, before the truck is standing still. You can also share all your empty trucks with one live link.
Fill the last spaces with part loads
A trip does not have to be all or nothing. You can bid on only the cars that fit the spaces you have left, which is often the quickest way to make a nearly full truck pay in full.
Bid, or claim it straight away
Every load shows the price to beat, so you only bid where the numbers work. When a customer has set an instant-book price, you can claim the load straight away instead of waiting for the bidding to close.
Getting paid
For loads on Haulio, Haulio pays you, Net 28 after proof of delivery, for the amount agreed in the portal. If a dealer pays late or not at all, that is our problem, not yours.
Want to see the board for your lanes? Join as a carrier, or read more about empty trucks.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
How do I find return loads on Haulio?
Open Find Loads and set the delivery country to your home country or next destination. The map shows loads that bring the truck back paid.
Can I tell dealers where my empty trucks are?
Yes. Register where a truck will be empty, from which date, how many spaces it has and where it is heading. Dealers, importers and Haulio see the capacity and can offer you loads that fit.
Who pays me for marketplace loads?
Haulio pays you Net 28 after proof of delivery, for the amount agreed in the portal, so you never chase a dealer for payment.
Written by the Haulio team in Copenhagen. We run a car transport marketplace for Europe, primarily in and out of the Nordics, and write about what we see on it every day.
